


Saw You Looking Sweet Again

by kelsoarr



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffee Shops, F/F, F/M, Femslash, Fluff, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-08-13 06:01:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7965304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelsoarr/pseuds/kelsoarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Standard college age coffee shop AU stuff. Equal parts cute and funny. </p><p>Ginny used to be a softball player before suffering a career-ending knee injury. Luna is an artist turned barista. Draco is just doing what his father tells him. Harry is doing what he thinks is best for everyone. All in all they're coming to terms with what it means to be themselves after years of being who they thought they needed to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ginny took a long drag from her last cigarette ever, before quickly snubbing it out on the bottom of her snowy boots. She held the breath in for a minute before lazily exhaling out of her nose, the wisps of smoke trailing out in front of her in the chilled January air. She was leaning against the brick wall of a building on the outskirts of campus, hoping to get in a few moments to herself before her ludicrously early bio lab.

"That's a nasty habit for a former athlete to have." She heard someone say, and turned to catch her brother Ron's best friend Harry walking up behind her, a smirk etched across his face. She'd known Harry for so long but almost never outside of the context of Ron's companionship. It wasn't until this year when she started going to college that they began to develop a friendship of their own, and she'd had to come to terms with the fact the boy she used to push into mud puddles in the garden was more than a guest her brother occasionally brought home from boarding school.

Ginny snorted before flicking the snow-dampened cigarette butt at him, Harry batted it away easily and retaliated by reaching over to pull her beanie down over her eyes and lean up against the wall beside her.

"you're such an ass, Potter." Ginny muttered through the dark green wool off her cap, the insult in her words negated by the grin she was sporting as she lifted the cap up and readjusted it on her head. "And, not that it's any of your business, but I'm quitting."

"Mhm," He said, eyes widening in a show of surprise "As if we haven't heard that one before."

She rolled her eyes, "God, you sound just like Ron."

"I sound like no one but myself, thank you very much." He responded in mock indignation.

"Well now you sound like Hermione," She said with a chuckle, "But I know what you mean, this time though I really am quitting- for sure. Even if I can't play softball anymore I don't necessarily want to have tar filled lungs."

Harry smiled, "Well I'm glad to hear it, we've been worried about you, you know."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah, whatever,  _mom._ Speaking of Ron and Hermione, where are they?"

"That's actually part of the reason I came over here, I'm about to go meet them at that new coffee shop that opened down the street. Want to come with? Apparently they have some life changing scones, or something."

"Fuck, I do love scones. I have bio lab in a few minutes though." Ginny sighed, she already wanted another cigarette. And a scone. 

Harry looked downtrodden for a moment before quickly looking up, his green eyes lighting up in excitement. "Skip it!" He said, "The new term just started, you have all those available skips just waiting to be used irresponsibly."

Harry pulled at the ends of her scarf, saying "You know you waaaaant to" over and over while she did a quick pro/con analysis of missing her lab. Pros: not going to lab, getting to eat a scone. Cons: ???

She yanked her scarf away from Harry, "You're right, fuck it. I hate biology anyway. I heard all we do in the first lab is look an onion peels through a microscope." She shouldered her bag and turned to follow him in the direction of the shop.

"Great! I'm glad you're coming. Hermione has a test coming up so she actually wants to study and Ron doesn't even like coffee."

Ginny laughed, "Why is he going then?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "You know why."

"Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione." Harry answered solemnly. 

They walked in companionable silence for a bit, with only the sound of their boots crunching in the leftover snow and the occasional car to accompany them. Ginny could sense Harry was anxious about something, and she had to admit she was a bit anxious too. Hermione and Ron had been skirting around their feelings for years, everyone knew they should be together but the thought of them actually going through with it meant a lot of change in the current friend group dynamics. Harry would feel that more than anyone, and she couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"They'll both still be your friends even if they're together, you know that right?" Ginny finally said, even offering up what she hoped was a comforting pat on the shoulder.

Harry stiffened, hands immediately going to his pockets in a forced show of nonchalance. "I know that." He answered, turning and looking away from her. Maybe directly addressing the problem was a bad move 

"Well... I'll always be your friend, regardless." She said in a quick effort to remedy the situation," And so will everyone else. In fact, why don't I invite Cho along? I heard she fancies you." She said with a smirk, poking him in the ribs playfully. Maybe what Harry needed was a girl of his own? Then he'd feel less left out.

A nervous blush crept up his cheeks even as he laughed her off. "No way, Cho is super out of my league."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Harry James Potter, you'd be hard pressed to find a girl out of your league. Let go of that humble shtick- it won't do you any favors."

She laughed as Harry's blush deepened, "Oh, have I embarrassed you?" 

He shoved her away playfully with a laugh of his own, "Fuck off, I'm just perfectly fine in your company, is all." He said with a cough, pushing up his glasses. "Here's the place by the way." He motioned to a cute little shop on the corner with a handpainted sign reading "Lovegood's" in a nearly unintelligible cursive script. 

"Woah, not what I was expecting." Ginny said in surprise, "Didn't this place use to be something else?"

"No. Well, yes and no. It was that artist's shop, remember? But it was apparently doing really shit business so this Malfoy guy came along and revitalized it, now it's part art part coffee shop." Harry answered.

"Well, that's cool I guess." Ginny said, still a bit confused by the sign as well as the outside decor, which was a terrifying explosion of color and painted metal sculptures that looked like flowers from an alien planet.

"I'll get that." Harry said as she went to go inside, reaching over her to open the cafe's door which sounded off with a loud twinkle from a multitude of bells.

"Thanks." She said, quickly reaching for the next door to hold it open for him.

He laughed, "Why thank you, my lady."

"My pleasure, sir." She said with a sly grin.

The coffee shop was a lot less overwhelming once inside, she had a feeling that was a new development however as the place still held the underlying reek of fresh paint. She had to admit, it was a cool shop. She never would have wandered in by herself but it seemed like something college students would like. There was an array of seating options that seemed to have been acquired over various thrift shop runs; with tables, chairs, and booths of various sizes and shapes littering the front half of the store. In the back an impressive amount of art work was displayed of varying styles and mediums, everything from paintings to jewelry and even what appeared to be a hand carved chess set. Hermione and Ron sat in the place's only available both, Hermione surrounded by a stack of opened textbooks and Ron trying and failing to balance a pen on his nose. Ginny noticed her friend Neville was also there, as well as Cho and a senior, Cedric, who she'd only met once or twice.

Seeing Harry, Ron immediately dropped the pen as his face split into a wide grin.

"Oi! Over here!" He shouted, earning an indignant hush from Hermione that he studiously chose to ignore. 

"I was wondering when you two would show up!" Ron said in what he probably thought was a whisper, but was more a quiet shout.

"I had bio lab, so obviously Harry had to fight tooth and nail to convince me to skip. I didn't know you'd be here, Neville, aren't you in bio with me?" Ginny asked, turning to Neville who was currently color coding his agenda in an attempt to make it more legible despite the fact it was mainly full of scribbled out sentences and question marks.

"Wait... bio was today?" Neville asked, voice rising in panic, "I thought it was tomorrow!"

Ron snorted, "You really need to get your schedule sorted, mate."

Neville sighed and rested his head on the table with a pathetic sounding thud, Ginny gave him a consolatory pat on the shoulder.

"It's alright, Nev. I skipped too so now we can think of a joint excuse. Want me to buy you a scone?"

Neville nodded against the table. If Ginny had learned anything from her mother it was that good food solved most things. She stood up to go to the counter and Harry caught her sleeve.

"Hold up, I'll go with you." He patted Neville on the arm, "Anyone besides Neville here want anything?"

"Yeah, if you're buyin." Ron said without looking away from the eraser he was now trying to balance on the tip of his nose.

Hermione finally looked up from her books in time to flick the eraser off Ron's nose, which flew in an impressive arc to land across the room. 

"I'll take a shot of espresso, please Harry." Hermione answered before returning to her books, pretending not to notice as Ron stared at her with a look of utter betrayal.

"Alright, one shot of espresso for Hermy-one kenobi, anyone else?" Harry pointed at Cedric and Cho.

"You want anything babe?" Cho asked Cedric, who was watching Hermione and Ron's eraser squabble unfold with an intense interest.

Babe? Ginny thought. Oh man, she'd need to ask Cho about this. She raised an eyebrow at the other girl, and Cho responded with a look that clearly meant "we'll talk later". That was one of the many things Ginny appreciated about Cho, after years of playing on the same team communication between them could consist of little more than facial expressions.

"Oh, umm- I'm not sure. I actually don't know much about coffee, how about I go with you guys?" He stood up from the table and Ginny had to admit that despite the fact she was annoyed at Cho for not mentioning Cedric to her sooner, she was impressed. He looked athletic but in that soft way that was really in with guys nowadays, where they were totally ripped but hid it under layers of sweaters and flannels.

She raised both eyebrows at Cho this time, in an effort to communicate "Oh we will definitely be talking later". Cho raised her lips in a small smirk before turning to ask Cedric to order her a small decaf.

"Decaf?" Hermione broke away from her argument with Ron to look offended at Cho's choice of beverage.

"Oh no, let's go." Ginny said quickly, pulling Cedric and Harry with her towards the counter as Hermione and Cho began to discuss the merits or lack-there-of when it came to decaf coffee.

"Is she always like that?" Cedric asked, thankfully looking amused by Hermione instead of frustrated. Ginny loved the girl but had to admit she could be a bit of an acquired taste at times, not everyone was used to dealing with someone who held such strong opinions.

"No. I mean, she is always that passionate but her trigger is quick today cause she has some big test thing coming up. I guess she's trying to graduate early so she's in some accelerated courses." Harry said with a shrug.

"Wow... she must be incredibly smart."

Ginny gave a quick laugh, "You don't know the half of it. So do you not normally drink coffee?"

"No, I try to keep my caffeine intake to a minimum. No offense to anyone who doesn't, I'n not going to judge someone else on their lifestyle but I'm training to be a professional athlete so I'm a bit extreme when it comes to monitoring my diet." He said sheepishly.

Modest AND cute? Cho had really outdone herself this time, Ginny thought. 

Harry gave a low whistle, "That's some intense stuff, dude. Well you should try the decaf then, see if you even like it." They reached the counter and Harry leaned over it to peek back into the kitchen, "Helloooo, is anyone here?"

They stood in silence for a few seconds, Harry still leaning over the counter, and Cedric looking more uncomfortable with the whole situation as time progressed. Ginny briefly wondered if it really was worth skipping lab for this.

"The service in this place is pretty lackluster." Ginny said after the seconds of silence stretched into a minute.

"Hmm.." Harry said, before beginning his shouting anew, "I said hellllOOOOO-"

"I heard you the first time, quit your wailing!" Came a shout from the back, and a man with the most thoroughly unpleasant expression came through carrying a precarious stack of cardboard boxes. He looked to be about their age, in fact Ginny was certain she'd seen him around school once or twice. His hair was perfectly coiffed and brillantly white, everyone from the set of his shoulders to the haughty upturn of his nose spoke of high expectations and demands. He might have even passed for handsome if he wasn't red-faced from exertion and wearing the expression of someone who tried to swallow an entire lemon.

"Looney... a little help." The boy panted, anger seeping through his voice.

Suddenly a girl popped up from underneath the counter, startling them all so bad Harry even fell from the counter.

"Yes, may I take your order?" the girl said in a dreamy voice, staring not at them but right above them- pencil poised eraser side down on a notepad. She looked strikingly similar to the boy, white, wavy hair falling gently around her shoulders like a cloud, various pieces clipped up with children's hair clips in the shape of teddy bears, butterflies, and flowers. But where his expression was sour, her's was equally as sweet. She turned her full gaze to Ginny and smiled, showing off a dazzling array of pearl white teeth.

The sudden acknowledgement caused Ginny to blush, and she stammered out the first thing that came to mind.

"So, uh, so... I hear you got scones."

Wow, that was stupid. Ginny thought to herself. Taking comfort in the fact that at least she wasn't Harry, who was currently being picked up off the floor by Cedric.

"Oh, yes. We have many scones." The girl said, still looking directly into Ginny's eyes in a way strangers don't normally make eye contact with other strangers.

"I meant... help me... with the boxes... you lunatic." The boy panted out, still laboring forgotten in the background with his multitude of boxes, a modern day Atlas.

"Oh." the girl said, promptly dropping the pencil and notepad to turn around and pick one box off the top.

"Better?" She asked, immediately setting the box on the floor and sitting on it.

"Not... really!" The boy squeaked out, face somehow getting redder by the second. Ginny wondered if she was about to watch a man explode, she kinda hoped so.

"I got it!" She heard Harry say, before he leapt over the counter and took half of the boxes away from the other boy.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief, face immediately returning to a more human color.

"Finally!" The boy said in an annoyed voice, Harry shot him a disgusted look. "I- I mean... thanks. Can you take these to the back?"

"Sure." Harry said, with a mischievous grin, "For a free scone."

The other boy gave a glare that could melt paint, unfortunately for him Harry wasn't easily dissuaded from free food.

"God damn it, fine." The boy said with one last withering glance, "Take these to the back and you can have whatever scone you want."

"Score." Harry said, following the other boy to the back.

"My my... how exciting!" The girl said, watching the boys retreat from her perch on the box, cross legged with her head gently set in her hands.

"Er... can we order..." Cedric spoke up from the back, holding his hands out in a placating gesture like he was approaching a wild animal.

"Of course, what do you want?" The girl said, not bothering to so much as move from the box or turn to them.

"Two small decafs, one shot of espresso, the three best scones you got, and I want a hazelnut latte." Ginny said, even bothering to write it all down on the pad of paper the girl had left on the counter, ripping the piece of paper off and handing it to the girl as matter-of-factly as possible.

The girl sat there for a few more seconds, before reaching behind blindly and snatching the piece of paper.

"Five minutes." she said, before standing up and scurrying off to the back.

"Are coffee shops always like this?" Cedric asked nervously.

"I don't think anything is ever like this." Ginny muttered, both to Cedric and herself.

"...Good to know." Cedric replied, sounding no more reassured by Ginny's answer than he was by the loud noises emanating from the back of the shop.

Harry appeared all of a sudden and leapt back over the counter, scone in hand.

"Check it out!" He said proudly, holding up what Ginny had to admit was the most absolutely perfect scone she had ever seen.

"Holy shit dude..." She whispered, the steam wafting off it bringing a scent of chocolate and cinnamon that made her mouth water.

"You know ya boy got the hook ups for the best pastries in town." Harry said with a grin.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "We were there when it happened, doofus. All you did was carry some boxes."

Harry frowned, "They were heavy boxes, Ginny. Real heavy ones!"

Before Ginny could offer up a pithy remark, the coffee shop girl came back balancing a dazzling array of scones and drinks.

"It was actually six minutes and thirty seven seconds, I apologize." She said, "That'll be this amount of money that Draco will input into the register."

The boy came back, furiously brushing off what must have once been a nice white button-up and took a deep breath.

"Will that be cash or credit?" He asked, with an obviously forced smile.

"Credit." Harry said, offering forward his card.

"Hey! I was gonna pay for some of that." Ginny said indignantly.

Harry rolled his eyes, "And now you're not, help Cedric take the things back to the table."

Ginny punched him in the arm and turned to grab one of the many plates and cups.

"Nonsense!" Draco said, "Loon- er, I mean, Luna, would you mind helping them?" He asked through gritted teeth, whatever his relationship was with the girl it was obviously costing him dearly to even attempt a nice facade.

"Hmmm... I suppose so." Luna said with a shrug, picking up a surprising amount of things and flouncing off in the direction of their table.

"How kind of you to do your job." Draco muttered as he rang up Harry and handed him back his card, "Do come back, please." He said before promptly turning around and heading to the back of the store.

"Gee... what a charmer." Cedric said sarcastically as they headed back to their table and sat down. Ginny watched in fascination as Luna somehow handed everyone their correct order despite having never been told what everyone wanted. Ginny looked down at her latte, it was in a misshapen hot pink clay mug and someone had designed a heart made of rainbow sprinkles on top of the milk foam.

"This place is weird. I like it." Harry said simply through a mouthful of scone.

"Yeah... I think I do too." Ginny said, watching the sprinkle heart sink into her latte and promptly disappear.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitochondria, drank. Sit down, drank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who actually enjoys this dumb story! I'm in grad school so I just write in my free time to have fun. Normally I write way longer chapters but I'm trying to make these shorter so I actually update things lol let me know if you have any suggestions for things you'd like to be included in the story ^^ I'm open to any and all cliches

"And what's the mitochondria?"

"Are you fucking kidding, Nev?"

"It's one of the flashcards!"

"It's the powerhouse of the cell, dolt, that meme is ancient."

"Not as 'ancient' as the study of biology, Ginny!" Neville responded seriously, before picking up the next card to quiz her with.

It was Friday night and their first major exam was next week, a couple weeks into the semester and Ginny was already spending a Friday freaking night in Neville's dorm listening to classical piano playlists while reading off the definitions of various cell parts. College sure is wild.

Ginny rolled her eyes as Neville studiously picked apart two of his cards, "It's a Friday..." She whined, "Can we _at least_ make this into a drinking game?"

Neville's face noticeably paled, and he quickly dropped his stack of laminated vocab cards onto his duvet.

"D-Drinking? Like alcohol drinking?"

"Yeah... Nev. The devil's nectar!" She said in a fake whisper, "Here, I'll call up Harry and the gang we can get a weird bio themed party up in here. We know more than anyone so we can get those suckers drunk as skunks, it'll be hilarious." She reached for her phone and immediately began dialing Harry's number, despite Neville's week stammers of protest in the background.

"I dunno Ginny... we have a test soon..." He said nervously.

"Neville, the test is in several days- loosen up."

"But I-"

"Shh, I'm on the phone." She stage whispered as her phone began to ring.

You better pick up Harry James Potter, she thought to herself.

"Ginny my girl! What. Is. Up!"

"Hey Harry I- wait, are you drunk?" She asked, the sounds of what was very apparently a party emanating from her phone.

"Hehe... are youuuu drunk?" Harry asked.

"No." Ginny replied, thoroughly annoyed that Harry was both 1) already drunk and 2) had not invited her along.

"Oh." Harry said, suddenly sounding much more sober, "I thought Nev said you were busy? I assumed you went somewhere?"

"What? No! We're studying. I was wondering if you wanted to get the gang to come over and make a drinking game out of it." She glanced up at Neville, who was definitely not making eye contact with her.

"A biology themed drinking game?" Harry asked incredulously, "Wait... actually, you know, normally I  _would_ be up for something that stupid honestly but I'm at this weird party and you two should just come here. I already called up everyone else, 'cept Cho I dunno her number."

"Yeah... I'll let you know. Text me the address." Ginny said.

"Cool, laters!" Harry said before hanging up.

"Hey Nev..." Ginny said slowly, "What's up with the whole telling Harry we were busy thing?"

Neville shifted uncomfortably on his bed, a blush creeping up his cheeks as Ginny continued to stare him down.

"I... I... I've never... drank." He muttered.

Ginny blinked in surprise, "What, that's it?"

Neville sighed and nodded, "I'm scared to go to a real party, I just thought- I just wanted some company, is all."

Ginny frowned, "Aw, Nev." She walked over and sat down next to him, "We aren't gonna make you drink, but you shouldn't spend your Friday nights stressing over some exam either. Just go, hang out. If it sucks we can leave but how about we give it a go?"

He nodded slowly, "I do have this new dress shirt I wanted to wear somewhere!" He said with a small smile.

Ginny stood up triumphantly, pulling Neville with her. "That's what I'm talking about! Meet you downstairs in the lobby in 10, I'm going to change and then we can go."

Neville smiled, a gentle nervous smile but a nice one nonetheless. She gave him a quick hug before running out the door to head to her dorm.

"If I get there fast enough I can take some bottle shots from Hermione's not-very-secret whiskey bottle, call Cho, brush my teeth- son of a BITCH." Ginny stumbled as her knee abruptly decided to stop working, the muscle in her leg twitching in pain as she fell to the floor mid-step.

"I always... forget... I can no longer... run...." She muttered to herself from her new position on the floor. She clutched her knee and winced, trying to think of anything other than how pathetic she felt as a former athlete who could no longer so much as jog down a hallway without collapsing on herself. Fuck, she needed to smoke. No- no she didn't, she'd quit. Well, maybe just one.

"Is that comfortable? Being on the floor?" A voice asked, appearing as if out of thin air.

Ginny glanced up to see the strange girl from the coffee shop was inexplicably there to witness her embarrassment, how wonderful.

"Not particularly." Ginny replied dryly, the girl only cocked her head to the side slowly as if she was examining something. It made Ginny feel oddly like one of the microscope slides from her biology lab.

"Err... you mind helping me up or what?" Ginny said, after a few moments of silence.

The girl didn't answer right away, still staring at her like she expected Ginny to do something interesting at any moment.

"No..." The girl finally responded, pausing for a moment, "I'd rather try being on the floor." 

Ginny watched in amazement as she primly sat herself down on the dirty dorm carpet next to her, crossing her legs like a child at school with her hands neatly placed in her lap.

"So..." The girl began.

Ginny waited, but the sentence was never continued.

"So, so what?" She finally asked in exasperation.

"So what brings you to the floor?" The girl asked politely, as if it was perfectly normal to drop everything you are doing to sit on the floor with a stranger.

"Uh... knee injury." Ginny said, unsure what exactly was expected from her in a social situation this bizarre.

"Well that sounds troublesome."

"It is. I used to be rather active, before."

"That's dreadful. I'm Luna."

"Very dreadful. Ginny."

Luna nodded thoughtfully, "Ginny..." she said her name slowly, like she was committing it to memory. Ginny shivered, she must be getting cold, it really was too cold to be sitting in a hallway. Plus she had a party to get to, fuck! Neville, she almost forgot Neville!

With a groan Ginny sat herself up, the pain in her knee temporarily put on a mental hold as she brought her full focus to making it in time to meet Neville.

"I... uh, it was lovely, sorta meeting you. I have a party- a party to get to, are you going to stay... on the floor?" Ginny asked.

Luna seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding, "The floor is as good as anywhere."

"As good as a party?" Ginny caught herself saying before she could process her own words, or why she would invite a strange girl to a strange party in a strange way.

"If it's Draco's party I wasn't invited." Luna said, and Ginny caught what she believed to be a bit of bitterness in those words.

"I don't know who's party it is or who the fuck Draco is but it's a party and I'm going to be in the lobby to leave in a few minutes, you're welcome to come if you get bored of the floor."

Luna smiled, "I'll consider it."

Ginny nodded, "Well... alright then." She said, finally heading off in the direction of her dorm. Luna continued to smile, not looking like she ever planned to actually leave the apparent comfort of her newfound spot on the dorm floor. 

God, this party better have booze. Ginny thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of Draco's party, the breaking-and-entering edition. For those looking for the Draco/Harry you got a big storm comin next chapter so stay tuned!

 When Ginny finally made her way down to the lobby to meet Neville, thoroughly buzzed and looking halfway decent, she was momentarily surprised to see Luna standing next to him- she really had expected the girl to stay in the hallway.

"Hey Ginny!" Neville said, waving at her enthusiastically. Luna watched him with interest and then turned to Ginny, repeating the wave.

"Hello... you two." Ginny said, walking forward to greet them and beginning to wonder if this was the first of many mistakes she might make tonight, "You guys ready to go?"

"Yes!" Neville said in a loud voice, before quickly growing embarrassed at his own behavior and clearing his throat, "Err... I mean, yes. Yes I am ready to go."

Ginny nodded, "Great. Harry texted me the address, and it's close enough we can walk. So let's head out- yeah? Oh, and by the way Nev I'm sure she introduced herself but this is Luna, from the coffee shop." Luna stuck her hand out and shook Neville's hand in an eerily business-like manner, to his credit Neville accepted the admittedly strange girl without question, even shooting her a pleasant smile.

"Pleased to meet you." Luna said, "Ginny, may I look at the address?" She asked, reaching her hand forward towards Ginny's phone.

"Uh... sure." Ginny said, handing the phone over, "Why, is it that Draco guy?" Luna stared at the screen silently for a few moments, before handing the phone back and nodding quickly.

"Maybe, I shouldn't go." Luna said suddenly, turning to leave.

"Hey now!" Ginny called over her, "Don't you know house party rules?" Luna stopped at that, not bothering to turn around but from her posture Ginny could tell she was listening.

"House party rules dictate if you are invited to a party you can invite others to the party too. Harry was invited, he invited me, I invited you and Neville. Now we're all invited. Fuck this Draco guy, from the sounds of it the party is huge, chances are you might not even see him!" Ginny briefly wondered to herself why she was even remotely invested in Luna going, in many ways it would be easier for her if she stayed behind. Chances are she'd already have to watch Neville all night, and more than anything she'd like to be able to independently let loose and have some fun. The only reasoning she could bring to mind was that Luna seemed to need the same thing, and also that Draco guy seemed like a real prick.

Luna stayed as she was, back turned and facing the staircase silently. Neville was fidgeting nervously now, as tension mounted with each second Luna failed to give them any sort of response. So much time had passed Ginny was about to head out regardless, when Luna quickly whipped her head around and walked past them towards the lobby's front door.

"Follow me, I know the way." Luna said simply. Neville shot a glance towards Ginny, she shrugged, mouthing "let's go" before following Luna out the door, Neville trailing behind. Maybe she had been wrong, she thought, as they stepped out into the crisp night air and followed their enigmatic tour guide down the street. Luna seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

* * *

Harry was having a good time. A gooooooood tiiiiiime.  _A good time._ This was a good time for Harry.

"What's even in this drink, mate?" Harry shouted at the jerk barista he had helped carry boxes the other day. The barista laughed, which was strange. Every other time Harry had seen him he'd been scowling. He scowled at the coffee shop. Scowled in class (Harry had him in one class, he'd realized). He scowled walking down the street (Harry often saw him as he left class, he seemed to see him quite a lot). The man was a scowler. Here, however; he was smiling  _a lot._ Everybody here is having a goooood time, Harry thought to himself happily. He hoped Ginny would get here soon.

I like Ginny, Harry thought to himself. He liked her a lot, like in a romantic-y way. Oh no... these were secret thoughts. Alcohol was turning them into front-in-center thoughts, this was bad.

Harry laughed, placing a hand on the shoulder of the still laughing barista- who he suddenly remembered was named Draco. "Seriously Draco... what is  _in this?"_ Draco was laughing so hard he'd become silent, bringing his own arm up to place a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Who-who knows Potter?" He said in between laughs as he struggled to catch his breath, "I didn't mix it!" Harry laughed with him, although in the back of his mind he recognized drinking unknown alcohol was incredibly dangerous, it was just so tasty, and he was having such a good time! He took another sip. The party really was bumpin. Hermione and Ron were over in a corner standing stupidly close to each other for two people who wouldn't just fucking kiss already. Cedric and Cho were literally making out on the make-shift dance floor. Some sort of sports team had not only brought their own keg but were now encouraging everyone else to join them in doing keg stands, and whoever was in charge of the music was doing a bang-up job and the speaker system really rocked. also there was a _heated_ _pool and a hot tub._

"Who's the DJ?" Harry asked, leaning in close to Draco's ear and repeating the question after a chorus of cheers over who knows what outside started up.

"You mean who chose the music?" Draco asked and Harry nodded, "I did, it's my playlist." Harry's eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't expected he and Draco would have similar tastes.

"Well it's very good." Harry responded, giving Draco a friendly pat on the back that he hoped emphasized how much he enjoyed it. Draco seemed pleased, which was also a first. Alcohol really is amazing, Harry thought as he glanced around the party. Harry felt oddly at home when he was in large groups of people like this, he liked the feeling of being both a part of something and separate from it. He was participating by being an observer, and this brought him a strange sense of satisfaction.

"Do you... like whiskey?" Draco asked suddenly, breaking Harry away from his introspection.

"Yeah, it's probably my favorite." Harry answered, watching as Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and dragged him away as a strange new emotion began blossoming in the pit of his stomach. He looked over to see Cedric and Cho and the feeling only intensified, he thought about Ginny and Neville and suddenly felt exceedingly uncomfortable. Had he drank too much?

"Would you maybe want to see my record collection? It's up in my room, I have a bottle of whiskey my dad bought my years ago and it's quieter up there." Draco said. Harry glanced over at him and noted in the back of his mind that the guy looked slightly apprehensive, almost as if he was inviting Harry up to his room while simultaneously wishing he would say no. What a strange dude, had he never had a friend before or something?

"Sure mate, whatever." Harry replied easily, polishing off the rest of his drink. He liked looking at other people's music. He wasn't a big record guy himself, but he appreciated the commitment it took to build up a collection. Personally his favorite way to listen to music was through his soft, cushiony headphones while on-the-go but he could totally see Draco as the listening-to-records-up-in-his-room type. That seemed like a rich kid thing.

Draco smiled again, he really looked much better when he smiled, Harry thought. People would probably hate him less if he walked around campus looking like  _that_ , all white teeth and flushed cheeks with tousled hair. Tousled hair was real in, Harry knew that cause his own messy hair was a real selling point with the ladies. Well, every lady 'cept the one he actually wanted- nope. Nope, not going there.

"Great!" Draco said, bringing Harry's attention back to the here-and-now, "Lets's head upstairs." Harry nodded, tossing his solo cup aside and following Draco's lead, it was probably better he put some distance between his drunk self and Ginny, anyway.

It's not like she couldn't have a good time without him.

* * *

 "Have you seen a man, Harry? Harry Potter? Real stupid messy hair, and a dumb forgetful face, kinda tall... no? Alright, well thanks any- aaaand you just walked away from me, mid-sentence. Awesome." Ginny watched as yet another happy-go-lucky party goer blatantly ignored her inquires.

Harry James Potter... you are dead to me, Ginny thought. Nothing about this night was turning out quite as she'd suspected. As soon as they had arrived some girl named Susan from biology had immediately snagged Neville, which Ginny wasn't necessarily  _upset_ about but Luna had also slipped away from Ginny shortly after arriving and she had yet to see her since.

So basically, she'd been fucking ditched.

Which, sure- whatever. Ginny has other friends. Except all her other friends are too busy macking on each other's faces to give much of a shit Ginny had arrived, which got her thinking after 1 (or 2, or 3...) shots: where the hell is Harry? The guy who had  _invited her?_

Ginny stood in the middle of the party, watching the ebb and flow of the people around her who were completely oblivious to her existence. She hated that about parties, it reminded her of how it felt growing up surrounded by her brothers. She was either obnoxiously singled out or completely ignored, and as a consequence she'd developed a weird sense of self consciousness when she received zero attention from those around her- like she was still the same little girl who'd rather be front and center for any reason at all, even a negative one; than to be lonely. Ugh, she thought as she grabbed a drink at random and began taking sips, alcohol always did this to her. She hated being introspective.

She decided if she was going to be miserable, she might as well be miserable outside. In true petty fashion she took the nearly full cup she'd just picked up and made sure to place it precariously close to the edge of a coffee table near an expensive looking rug. She'd never directly spill something on someone's rug, but she certainly wouldn't fault the cup of it happened to get knocked over. She smirked as she headed out back, it was the little things.

Once outside she had to admit, this place was really nice. Despite the cold the pool was filled with people in various degrees of undress, based off the steam wafting gently from the water's surface Ginny assumed it must be heated. The hot tub was so stuffed she doubted there was much in the way of water left, and at the very least it was aggressively unsanitary. People were jokingly fighting over a variety of pool floats in various animal shapes, there was a shark one that was especially coveted if the current tug-of-war it was undergoing was any indication. A few people were playing a game of chicken in the deeper end, while couples lounged in the shallows- girls on the laps of their boy of choice. Ginny's throat burned, was it heartburn? She shifted uncomfortably, zipping her jacket up as a sudden chill overtook her.

Maybe she should just go, she thought glumly. She turned to leave, planning to head down a garden path near the side of the house that presumably led up to the front. She walked up to the path, there was a tiny gate built into a fence, a trellis of ivy making a pathway above it. As she closed the gate and made her way down and away from the party she felt her shoulders relax almost immediately, as the noise level dropped enough that she could hear the delicate crunch of her boots on fallen leaves. She stopped after a few feet, leaning against the side of the house and taking a few deep breaths- it had been awhile since she'd become so anxious, maybe she just needed a time out?

Ginny leaned her head back, she could feel the bass of the music inside as the party roared on, unaware of her and her troubles. She took some more deep breaths, imaging her forehead smoothing out, her limbs warming, the knots in her stomach loosening. She'd been told visualization was half the battle when you were calming yourself down like this, you think you're chill and maybe you'll be chill. She really didn't want to leave the party, she wanted to be relaxed and have a good time. She'd feel even worse if she left and she knew that, but at the same time the thought of facing all those people again made her want to vomit in the bushes.

As Ginny continued to deliberate the pros and cons of remaining at the party, a light suddenly came on above her bright enough to scare her away from the comfort of the wall. 

"What the...?" Ginny stared up to see Luna of all people, alone rummaging through what looked to be someone's bedroom. Was Luna stealing from this Draco guy? Regardless of what he may or may not have done to deserve it, Ginny couldn't really condone stealing. Then again, she wasn't Luna's mother. She continued to watch in fascination as the strange girl ran her hands in an almost exploratory fashion over the various possessions located in the room. Something about Luna's very person was oddly surreal, and that coupled with watching her through a plane of glass going about her business like a fish in a aquarium only succeeded in amplifying her surreal qualities.

Then, much to her horror, Luna turned-and stared directly at her.

"Oh shit!" Ginny said, backing up quickly and stumbling down hard into the bushes, "Fuck.." she muttered, as she scooted herself completely behind the bush, crouching down in the dirt to hide. She definitely had twigs in her hair, and a hole in her new jeans, and possibly a wicked bruise. What a night.

She looked up and saw that Luna was now walking towards the window, Ginny's heart began to race as she watched her slowly lift the window up and stick her head out, silver-blonde hair cascading gently in the breeze, like some sort of fairy-tale princess. If princesses were thieves, that is.

"Ginny, is that you?" Luna called, her soft, dream-like tone somehow still audible despite the roar of the party issuing behind her. Ginny tensed, should she reveal herself? Despite the fact Luna had called her name Ginny highly doubted she had actually seen her, why she'd call Ginny's name of all people was a real mystery, but still. Then again, what could she really lose from talking to Luna? Luna had gotten caught stealing, Ginny was hiding in a bush. The way she looked at it, pride wasn't a thing either of them could afford to have right now.

Whatever, fuck it.

"Yeah, it's me." Ginny said, standing up as quickly as her leg enabled, and doing her best to dust off her pants and pick various debris from out of her hair.

Luna smiled, waving politely, "Oh I had hoped so, how are you?"

"Err..." Ginny said, surprised by the normality of the line of questioning despite the obvious abnormality of the present circumstance, "It's... okay, I guess. Are you stealing from Draco?"

Luna paused, tilting her head gently to the side as if in deep contemplation. "Ginny... is it stealing to take something that is yours something else took?"

"I reckon not."

"Then, I'm not stealing. Actually... Ginny, do you like whiskey by chance?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, love it." Ginny said, "Why?"

Luna nodded, opening her mouth to answer before widening her eyes in surprise and turning quickly to glance at the door behind her, at the same time Ginny noticed the knob of the door slowly turning and began to wave her arms wildly at Luna, desperately wishing she had some idea of how to get her out of there aside from jumping. As if she'd noticed the same dilemma as Ginny, Luna swiftly made her way out of the window, dangling from the window sill by her fingers before Ginny could even register what the other girl was doing.

"No, no Luna! Don't!" Ginny said, making her way over as quick as possible to the other girl before she could fall, Ginny ran over and Grabbed Luna's legs, glancing up at her she saw her arms were trembling and she was visibly afraid.

"It's okay, I've got you- let go." Ginny said in as soothing a voice as she could manage. She'd never helped someone escape from a window before but she felt absolutely fucking determined to keep Luna from falling, whatever the cost. Ginny knew her willpower alone could support the weight of 10 Lunas.

"I... what if you drop me?" Luna whispered, staring down at Ginny with round, doe-like eyes. Ginny tightened her grip, steeling herself for the impact Luna's weight would have.

"I'm much stronger than I look, don't worry." Ginny said, giving her a reassuring smile, "On the count of three you are going to let go, okay?" Ginny hoped Luna would listen, she hadn't heard any noise above them but she was sure they didn't have much time until whoever was in the room found them out, "1... 2... 3-" As soon as Ginny said 3 she saw Luna close her eyes and hold her breath as she let go of her tenuous grip on the window's edge. Ginny felt Luna's full weight in her arms and began to let go bit by bit, allowing Luna to gently slide through her arms and down to the ground. her knee was screaming at her with a pain so strong she began to see stars, gritting her teeth she shifted her weight to the other leg and gasped at the sense of relief, within a couple seconds Luna was down on the ground and safe, thank God.

Ginny exhaled shakily, letting her head fall onto Luna's shoulder as she held her tight against her chest.

"God... that was stressful." she whispered with a small chuckle, feeling the excess of adrenaline roll through her veins, turning her arms into jelly. Oh no, she was still holding Luna she realized with a twinge of embarrassment, quickly dropping her arms and taking a step back from the other girl.

"Uh... sorry we had to get all up close and personal like that, you okay? Ginny asked.

Luna stood there, still trembling gently like a leaf caught in a breeze. "You... saved me." She eventually said in a quiet voice, as she turned to face her Ginny was surprised to see a bright, wide smile blossom across Luna's features.

"I mean, you jumped out of a window and I happened to be here... I couldn't just let you fall." Ginny said.

Luna shrugged, before closing the small gap between them and enveloping Ginny in a hug. Despite the fact they had been hugging each other only moments before, Ginny found herself all the more aware of Luna's presence in her arms this time around as she slowly reached up to hug Luna back. The other girl was way more slight than Ginny herself, who was still fairly athletic, and Luna's cloud-like halo of hair almost tickled her nose. Luna also smelled oddly like patchouli and violets, it was an earthy, comforting smell. Ginny took a deep breath and decided to settle into the hug, unlike most people Luna didn't seem to acknowledge the standard metric of friendly hug time, and was more than happy to keep up an embrace long past the average person's comfort zone. Normally this might have bugged Ginny, but honestly she needed that hug.

"It's a good thing I locked the door from the inside, huh?" Luna finally said, her voice taking on a sing-song quality that Ginny believed might be Luna's own brand of mischievousness.

Ginny snorted into Luna's hair, "Ah... so that explains why no one has yelled at us yet."

She heard Luna laugh, "Draco has an extra key I'm sure, so let's head back to the party before he finds us under an open window." Ginny nodded, breaking away from their hug somewhat reluctantly. As they made their way down the garden path in silence, she thought about asking Luna what it was she had been searching for in Draco's room- then decided against it. She had a feeling that if Luna wanted her to know, she'd tell her, and that asking it of her would simply be pointless.

Luna smiled up at her, Ginny smiled back.

Yeah, she thought, life might be better with a little bit of mystery.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Harry "listen to records" Luna and Ginny eat cheese sticks. There may or may not be kissing. (There's kissing)

"That's weird," Harry heard Draco say, "My door is locked, how the hell- hey, is someone in there? I'm opening the door with my spare key so you better have a damn good reason for being in my... empty room."

Harry glanced over Draco's shoulder to see the room was in fact, empty.

"Looks like the window is open mate, think they jumped?" He asked, pushing his way past the confused Draco and walking over to an ornate bookshelf, he began examining a collection of glass figurines arranged meticulously on the top shelf. They were all snakes, posed in mid-strike, there was at least twenty of all different shapes and colors. Fragile scales of colored glass twinkled in the dim light of Draco's desk lamp, the only illumination the room had except for a green and blue lava lamp that Harry felt was almost endearingly out of character with the rest of the room's decor.

Draco scoffed as he shut and locked the door behind him, "Well if they did, it's their funeral." As if to prove his point he sauntered over to the window in question, slamming it shut with a decisive thunk that left the room eerily silent. As they stood in companionable silence Harry found himself wondering why the host of the party would seek him out only to sequester him in such privacy, wasn't the point of hosting a party to mingle with guests?

"Draco, why'd you host this party?" Harry asked, all sense of social tact had disappeared two or three drinks ago. He didn't even need to turn around, he could feel Draco tense behind him, so he kept staring at the glass snakes. Something about their eyes was truly captivating, how could glass convey such personality? He reached out to touch one only to have his hand stopped, Draco lightly grabbing his wrist.

"Don't," He whispered, voice sounding oddly pained, "They're... family heirlooms."

Harry turned to see Draco standing only inches away, he was close enough for Harry to notice the blush in his cheeks and the color of his eyelashes- they were a golden blonde, so light they were almost invisible. He'd never thought about someone's eyelashes matching their hair before, he wondered if Ginny's were the same violent shade of red as her hair. He thought Draco's looked pretty cool, very unique. Everything about him was so visually consistent, white, silver, black. It made the drunken pink staining his cheeks stand out all the more because of it.

"Okay... I won't." Harry whispered back, suddenly feeling self-conscious of the volume of his voice. Draco quickly dropped Harry's wrist as if he only just became aware of their physical contact, and he turned away to make his way towards the record player adorning the opposite side of the room. As far as bedrooms go it was incredibly spacious, and Harry decided to make himself at home on a particularly comfortable looking bean bag chair somewhere in the center, sinking down into the cushy chair with a grateful sigh.

"Here." Draco said brusquely, and Harry heard a muffled thump. He glanced over to see a bottle of unopened whiskey had been tossed onto another adjacent bean bag.

"Thanks mate, this is some good stuff." Harry said, uncorking the bottle with his mouth and taking a swig, boy did that go down smooth. He took another swig, and then another, ya know, to be polite. It was rude to turn down another man's booze.

"It's not 'good', it's great." Draco said with complete sincerity, Harry snorted. This was a guy who didn't beat around the bush when it came to his own feelings of inherent superiority, he just expected you to comply.

Draco slid a record carefully out of it's placement on an outrageously full shelf, lifting it up gently to place it precisely on the turntable. He lifted the needle almost elegantly, setting it down with equal reverence, a surprisingly warm smile growing on his face as the first few notes filled the room. Harry leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. The music was quiet, pleasant, contemplative. He could feel warmth in his belly from the whiskey and the heaviness of sleep deprivation weighing down his eyelids as the room spun slightly around him. He was perhaps, a bit too drunk for this.

"Are you really going to pass out on me now, Potter?" He heard Draco say, surprisingly close to his ear. Harry opened one eye to see that Draco had taken up residence on the same chair as the whiskey, and was now drinking a shockingly large bottle shot. Even with good whiskey, that was a lot to put away with such ease.

"You practice that?" Harry mumbled, as Draco primly wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and set the bottle down on a nearby desk.

Draco laughed, "Practice what exactly?" He asked back with a mock innocence.

Harry chuckled, struggling to find the words for any response let alone a clever one, "I dunno... swallowing things I guess? No, wait, that's not..."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Is that a gay joke? How old are you?"

Harry thumped his forehead lightly with his hand in embarrassment, "No no, I know you're not gay I meant swallowing whiskey. Drinking whiskey! I meant drinking!" Harry corrected, his sluggish brain finally catching up to his mouth in sudden clarity.

Draco stared at Harry with such obvious disdain that Harry could feel his soul try to escape, cheeks lighting up with the excruciating knowledge of his own social blunders.

"I'm sorry, I... I'm really drunk, don't be mad-" He apologized rapid-fire, mouth moving more than saying anything until Draco brought his hand up abruptly to stop his rambling.

"Potter... you think, that I'm straight?" He asked slowly, as if talking to a toddler.

Harry stared at him dumbly, mouth opening and closing like a fish. He felt a bit like a fish actually, being caught under the sudden weight of Draco's full attention made him feel as if he was stripped bare in a glass aquarium for all the word to gawk at.

"I... don't know." Harry finished weakly, because he realized in a corner of his hazy mind that a part of him knew of many reasons one would invite a single person alone to their room to listen to records, and most of them weren't strictly platonic. A part of him knew that, and had accepted the invitation anyway, but puzzling through the implications of that had seemed ridiculous until now. Now that Draco was staring at him only a couple feet away, lips wet with whiskey and music gently playing in the background. The roar of the party still raged on beneath them, the floorboards humming with bass. Why was he here?

"I've caught you staring at me in class." Draco said, tone almost accusatory. "And across campus, and you winked at me when you helped me with boxes the day we met..."

"What?" Harry nearly shouted back, startling both Draco and himself as he sat as upright as one could in a beanbag chair. "I-" He coughed, lowering his voice, "That, I- I never... you just, you are around me a lot so I see you, and you stand out! What with the hair... plus you scowl, like,  _all_ the time so I kinda wonder, ya know? What's that Draco guy thinking, what is he up to, and that day you were in a real foul mood and that's how I am! I lighten things up! So I, winked, because... you were tense. SO tense, and now, here, I'm drunk. Very... drunk-"

"Okay, okay, alright!" Draco said, waving his hands around angrily, "I get it. I get it. You're totally one hundred percent straight, right? You just stare at guys and wonder about them and accept their invitations up to their rooms but no fucking homo, man!" He said the last part in a terrible approximation of Harry's voice before standing up to stride across the room and fumble with the lock.

"I don't sound like that!" Harry shouted, lurching uneasily to his feet and slamming the door shut as Draco finally opened it, earning a withering glare that might have intimidated him if he wasn't so fired up, Harry was many things but he wasn't an intolerant homophobe and he wasn't about to be called one. 

"I never said no homo, that I was straight, or anything remotely homophobic you prick!" Harry said, staring Draco down in a way he hoped seemed intimidating rather than drunk and disorderly.

Instead of slapping him like Harry had half-expected, Draco frowned, "So... you're not straight?" He asked slowly, taking his hand off the door handle.

"I..." Harry blinked a few times in confusion, "Did I...? I- that's not..." 

And suddenly, as if by magic, Draco laughed. Not a snort, but a full-belly honest-to-god laugh. He even doubled over, laughing so hard Harry could hear his breath hitching as he struggled to get air. 

"What's so funny?" Harry demanded, trying to maintain an outraged demeanor despite the already deflated tension in the room.

After a few more moments of relentless laughter, Draco lifted his head and wiped tears gathering at the corner of his eyes, "Potter, you are either so far in the closet you've taken residence there, or a complete idiot, and I can't decide which."

Harry stared in open-mouthed amazement, there hadn't been many people in his life with the stones to insult him so directly. It was frankly, admirable. 

"So which is it?" Draco asked, with a knowing smile, "Stupid or gay?"

Harry stared, really stared, at Draco. He stared at the softened wisps of his hair curling across his temple, the rumpled collar of his slightly undone black shirt against the pearly expanse of his shoulder, the way his smile altered the otherwise severe nature of his angular face, and his lips. Finally, he stared at those.

"I... both." Harry said after a prolonged silence.

Draco cocked his head to the side, staring at Harry with a wry smile, "Stupid AND gay?"

Harry smiled, "No, stupid and bi."

As Draco's eyes widened in surprise, Harry leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

 "Cheese sticks are like... they're like... if Heaven had a food, ya know? If heaven had a food... it would just be cheese sticks." Ginny said emphatically, passing Luna the blunt they had been sharing the past few minutes as they marathoned Bridezillas on Ginny's laptop. There was something about being high that made crappy reality television seem like nothing less than a comedic masterpiece. 

"With ranch dressing? Luna asked, coughing lightly before passing it back to Ginny. 

"Yes of course with ranch dressing." Ginny insisted, "God that bridesmaid's dress is hideous, why is that such a thing? Like you're getting married so everyone else must be totally ugly? Aren't these women your best friends, weirdo!" She shouted at the hysterical bride who was tossing plastic martini glasses at the bridesmaids in question, something Luna found so hilarious she'd been reduced to a mass of giggles. Ginny couldn't help but smile as she looked at the girl next to her, a girl she had barely known until tonight when she helped her get away with possible theft.

They'd left Draco's party pretty soon after the window incident, and gotten caught in a torrential downpour. Luna had originally stopped by Ginny's dorm only for a change of clothes, but once she was there she didn't seem keen on leaving and honestly; Ginny didn't feel like being alone- so she'd stayed. They'd made a warm nest of blankets and pillows on Ginny's crappy twin sized bed, ordered cheese sticks, and gotten drunk off wine Ginny had "borrowed" from Draco's. All in all, she'd had worse nights.

"Oh my, did she just toss her engagement ring out the window?" Luna gasped, a look of genuine surprise on her face.

Ginny snorted, "Why are you so shocked? The whole premise of this show is that these women are terrible."

"Yeah but... that's terrible." Luna said, eyes perpetually wide. She shuffled closer to Ginny, putting them shoulder to shoulder as she reached over to grab one of the remaining cheese sticks. She munched on it carefully, taking dainty bites a food so simple in concept and execution really didn't necessitate. Ginny found herself gazing down at the other girl affectionately, whether it was the weed, the alcohol, or the intoxicating nature of cheese she was immensely grateful Luna stayed. 

"Do the clothes fit okay?" She asked, noticing the maroon jacket she'd let Luna borrow was slipping off her shoulder, she reached over to fix it.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked suddenly, looking down at Ginny's hand questioningly.

Ginny stared at her dumbly, hand frozen on the bare skin of Luna's shoulder. She retrieved her hand quickly, promptly shoving it into her own jacket pockets. "Err... sorry, I noticed it was falling off your shoulder and I was just fixing it."

Luna continued to stare at her, tilting her head to the side gently. "Well why'd you stop?"

"Well, you asked why I thought maybe you had a problem with it." Ginny said simply, wondering if this conversation really was perplexing or if she was too high.

Luna leaned over Ginny again, pulling up the side of her jacket.

"Your's was slipping as well." She said, with a brief nod before returning to her food.

Ginny stared at her a moment, before turning her eyes to the laptop screen, looking but not really seeing. Everything about Luna seemed to throw her off-kilter, it was equal parts disconcerting and interesting.

"Ginny, can I braid you hair?" Luna asked.

"Hmm? Why?" Ginny said, pausing the show.

Luna shrugged, "Your hair is very pretty." She said simply.

"I... okay." Ginny agreed without really knowing why, she'd never had something play with her hair before who wasn't family, it sounded nice. She closed her laptop and placed it on her bedside table, reaching over to her desk to grab the same dingy hairbrush she'd had since middle school and handing it to Luna.

"Thank you, turn around please." Luna said, placing her hands on Ginny's shoulders gently and moving her so her feet were dangling off the side of the bed. Luna placed herself behind Ginny, sitting on her heels with her knees placed on either side of Ginny's waist. Ginny shivered a bit as Luna's fingers began to comb through her hair, gathering the strands from around her face and pulling them back where she could reach. She followed it up with the brush, humming quietly to herself as she lazily pulled the brush through Ginny's hair. Pausing occasionally to work through tangles with a delicateness Ginny found almost amusing, her own Mom used to yank at her scalp so hard Ginny had once feared she'd go bald.

Once the brushing was done to Luna's apparent satisfaction, she began to sort the strands and braid them, fingers working deftly as she continued to hum. Ginny closed her eyes, sighing in contentment. She felt so peaceful, Luna's warmth at her back and hands in her hair. She could smell the rain on Luna, and her breath was tickling the hairs on the back of her neck as she moved further and further down her hair.

"Excuse me, my legs are numb I'm going to move them." She murmured by way of apology, moving to extend them so that Ginny was now placed in between her legs, she glanced down to see Luna's small, pale feet placed by her own knees, bare legs against her's and she felt heat rise in her face. It was strange to be in such close contact with a near stranger. She couldn't remember if she'd ever let someone this close to her who wasn't already a close friend. She felt too sleepy and comfortable to follow that train of thought, however; and before she knew it Luna's hands had progressed and the braid was done, hanging loosely towards the middle of her back.

"Finished!" Luna said happily, clapping her hands together. "Can you do me now?"

"Your want me to do your hair?" Ginny asked in surprise, "I can't even do my own hair!"

"No one has ever done my hair before." Luna said.

"I'll try my best, but if it turns out badly dont say I didn't warn you." Ginny said, before switching places with Luna and taking the brush into her own hands. 

Luna's hair seemed even longer now that it was laid across Ginny's lap, like a pool of white silk. She ran the brush through but there were no tangles to speak of, her hair felt even softer than Ginny imagined. (Not that she'd thought about it often, of course)

"That feels really good." Luna murmured, eyes closed.

"I... I'm glad." Ginny said, as she began to awkwardly sort and braid the strands, her fingers felt thick and uncoordinated in comparison to Luna and her handiwork but she was determined to create a halfway decent braid.

It took three separate tries before she managed to finish, the braid laid smooth against her leg and she smiled down at it, pleased she'd done Luna's hair justice.

"All done Luna! You-" Ginny glanced down to see that the other girl had, at some point during her intense concentration on proper braiding, fallen asleep. Her cheek rested lightly on Ginny's thigh, exhaling soft and warm. Ginny stared down at her and was surprised to feel a sudden, intense fondness blossoming in her chest. She was scared to move, scared to end this moment where someone trusted her like this.

So she didn't. Ginny leaned back until she was laying down on her bed, her legs still hanging down as Luna leaned against her. She placed her hand on Luna's head, and ran her fingers the length of the braid.

"Goodnight Luna." Ginny whispered, and she fell asleep. 

 

 

 


End file.
